His design was used to become Exarchon, the main villain of the 2019's reboot of the IDW Transformers comic. The toy was actually his original form before the Quintessons experimented on him in which he became the Threefold Spark.
I don't know if you'll get this but I have a Japanese version of Soundwave with a copyright date of 1978 behind the back plate that comes off where the two batteries that turn into guns go. You said these Transformers were from 1981 so why does my sound wave have a copyright date of 1978? It's the original Japanese version with the Japanese writing and the 1978 date. I also have a giant funky transforming robot that nobody can identify he turns from a yellow and blue Eagle into a robot parts of it are black parts of it are yellow parts of it are blue and it's massive in both modes it's like a flip Plus and it dwarfs most 1980s Transformers other than Omega Supreme and Metroplex I think it's from GoBots but nobody's ever been able to identify it had it since I was like seven or eight
These aren't even some of his most ingenious work on Diaclone. Check out Twin Combat (which I'm lucky enough to own) and Double Soldier. Those 2 are absolutely brilliant and the direct spiritual ancestor to Punch-Counterpunch.
@@arx3516 I'm a bit late to the party, but Kawamori didn't design the Z Gundam: it was based off a design from Kazumi Fujita, but "redefined" a bit by Kunio Ookawara because Fujita design was much more "extreme" (and you can see it in the "Fujita Version" of the gunplas). Kawamori designed the Gundam GP-01 from Gundam 0083, which is one gorgeous looking Gundam, basically a reinterpretation of the original Gundam with smooth curves and flowing proportions.
I'd appreciate the heck out of them if I had the money to buy them haha Those things are expensive as heck if you try to buy them now! I love the Yuusha/Brave franchise. I'm sad I wasn't around when it happened! Same way I feel about G1 and Beast Wars. But yeah that's a great collection.
Your channel is amazing, your philosophy behind what makes a good transformer is great and I absolutely agree with you, love your videos, keep up the good work and I really hope you make many more videos, I'm so happy I found your channel!
The Daimos robot was awesome. It was piloted by a man who drove a car that turbo boosted to interface with the rolling thunder in wheels size of a cruise ship transformed into Daimos controls similar to how they controlled the pacific rim bots mind you the concept went way back in the 70s!
That's really cool! Lots of awesome history here, man! My wife and I now have seven grandkids (I was ten when the OG Transformers series came out) and they eyeball my collection of G1 and MP's and I'm always all; "Don't EEEEVEN think about it..." So we went and got some of the Hasbro plastic Transformers Hero toys and they love them. I looked at a couple and found that their transformation isn't too dissimilar from the G1 toys - only with rounded, lightweight plastic so you don't stab your brother or cousin safety. But I made a comment to my wife of how the kind of went olde skoole with them and they still looked good and are "real world" in appearance. Makes me kind of lament for the old days, ya know? But great video, dude! Keep up the good work!
I do the same with my kids. We really got into Titans Return together, which I think is the best Transformers line since the original in terms of sheer imagination. Some of the newer stuff is very very close to the original (and clearly modelled after it) but the heft is missing, as is some of the smoothness/fluidity in the transformation. They're not bad, but I would have liked to have seen Transformers improving in the 40 years since G1 instead of just coming close to almost being as good as the originals. I get it: folks want realism and cartoon accuracy. That's just not what I've ever been looking for, myself.
I firmly believe that a few strange incongruities such as "a truck-robot fighting a gun-robot despite their size differences" are exactly what creates great fiction that endures for a long time. That weirdness is what gives it the spark of imagination that kids don't even think twice about.
A few years ago I picked up a transformers lot from the Netherlands (super cheap) that had intact G1 Grimlock/French made Optimus Prime and Starscream body. But the crown jewel of the lot was the KO Attackbot body without accessories . It is almost an exact copy of the DiaAttacker. it doesn't have all of the same accessories but has some awesome weapons. It is equally as high quality and beautiful as the Diaclone.
I would guess that Hasbro chose the gun since it resembled an earth device. Everything in that first wave was something recognizable and you wouldn't expect it to be a "robot in disguise". Diattacker on the other hand looks like an alien ship and breaks the theme. You would kind of expect to do something extraordinary. I do kind of remember some vending company using a picture of him back in the day on some instructions that were included with a toy you would get out of those quarter crank vending machines. There were like 15 pieces of varying solid colors, maybe more, that you could collect and form a robot that sort of resembled Diattacker. Each kind of looked like an eraser but harder plastic. I only ever got one as a kid. I wish I had gotten more. Because now all it is, is a vague memory and I don't know what they called it.
Interesting! Takara made two earlier attempts to bring Diaclone to the American market directly with both Diakron and Kronoform. The product you saw was likely an offshoot of one of those efforts. I know Diattacker was released as part of the Kronoform line. I'm not sure if he was a part of Diakron.
@@classiccomicsforum After typing my comment the mystery was nagging at me so after a little research between google and tfwiki it seems those toys were referred to as "keshi" in Japan and the robot they formed may have been Gats Blocker. I think I had gotten a foot with the quarter I begged my grandma for. LOL Like most companies, that vending company was looking to capitalize on the Transformers/Gobots craze at the time. Funny how they came up with that particular robot to bring into the states.
You are absolutely right!! I have been collecting transforming robots since the early 80s and your criteria fits the bill. The transformers that came after the mid 80s (in other words the toys that were not modeled off diac lone or MicroMan were just not the same).
Great video I miss when transfromers came with the little guys with magnet feet. Im curious have you made a or know of a video about displaying transformers,I got back into collecting transformers then went back into my old collection and remembered they display poorly,it always looks like a cluttered mess to me no matter what.It seems like less is more with transformers when it come to display.
I definitely agree that less is more. Unfortunately, space is also hard to come by as one's collection grows. I'm constantly struggling to find space for new acquisitions, myself.
Would you believe I worked in retail with the husband of one of the animators for Daimos (she married an Australian and they were living in Sydney at the time), and she gifted me with a signed animation cell from the finisher move?
My dude, the current Legacy/Studio Series line is not for kids. The kids toys are still out there! Did you even try out the Smash Changer Optimus Primal?? That thing is rad!
We didn't get Diaclone in the UK, but many of those designs were licensed to a company called Grandstand and recoloured and rebranded as Converters. Your Cosmoroller, to us, was the Deltarian Tracker... The Diatrain became the Deltarian Shuttle. The big centrepiece figure in line (which, alas, I never got), was Omegatron... which was a repackaged Toybox Mechabot-1; this figure would also be redecoed in Transformers as Omega Supreme, but the presence of Omegatron meant that we never got OS here... And the Diattacker was part of that line as well, known as Zetanoid. As it turns out, Zoid pilots fit pretty well in those seats, too, which is what I did in the absence of Diaclone figures.
I've been an admirer of Granstand Converters for decades now. Love seeing familiar toys recycled into new branding. Perhaps my favorite of these was the version of Cosmoroller released in all white as a promotion for Atari. There was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles version too!
That's why I buy a lot of Cybertron stuff. The Cybertron figures are often more complex than G1, but have that chunky transformation. I think some officially licenced figures are still great like the SS dinobots. Interesting video for sure, never heard of this figure before. 1960s - 1980s Japanese robots had this great aesthetic no one can replicate for some reason!
The Diattacker looks like he would be a Decepticon. In cartoon continuity, he could've been on Cybertron with Shockwave. Hasbro could've made him available as a mail-away offer, like they did with Reflector. There was room for this guy.
I had never seen or heard of this toy before. Very cool looking missing piece of history. Great video. Great points also. I often refer to modern toys as "what passes for a transformer today" for exactly the reasons you gave. Looking behind you I see Fire Duke and j Dekker combined, goldran, and fighbird combined with granbird. These in my opinion are a few of the greatest transformers ever made.
Really enjoyed this presentation! Very informative and thorough, insightful and I learned some stuff. Given the title I (almost) assumed you were going to spring a surprise that true transforming figures started years before Diaclones, but it landed roughly where I thought it would’ve - as the Diaclones line evolved. Great stuff. 😎
The gun was chosen because he's an earth mode. "Robots in Disguise" It should be mentioned that the first car Diaclone was the countach LP500S (later becoming Sunstreaker) Great video, love your collection!
I know this will sound weird at first, but might I recommend getting a makeup brush for your collection? They are great tools for getting the dust off your figures and they are also really soft, so you don't have to worry about damaging anything. Mine is bright pink and purple lol.
I really hate how modern basically lost the plot on transformation. It's become a game of more complicated=good and chasing show accuracy to the point the robot mode veneers are largely fake alt-mode bits. The satisfaction of finding how this vehicle part becomes a robot part isn't their anymore.
Dieattacker: What was that? Prime: Err Nothing? Dieattacker: Yeah you just said something under your breath. Prime: No. No I didn't. Dieattacker: YOU SAID OMEGA SUPREME!! Dude what f**k!?
i have a bootleg dai attaker that was a gif from my grandfather back in 86,it was given to me in a birthday like box, but missed some accessories, no weapons, no horns, lost the gimick of rocket punches (that part was a company error, also has no available mini figures like all the diaclone have) yeah, the dai attaker could have been an awesome character for a TV series, to bad Hasbro didn't pick him up, it has potential to be an autobot commander.
Just so this video and I agree on so many point, I had the same Lancia Stratos toy as a kid. I was just thinking modern remakes of G1 transformers look gorgeous in robot form and vehicle form, but their transformation is just "open this panel and hide stuff inside, close the panel, snap it somewhere".
This guys us super cool! I wonder if they felt like he looked too much bigger and tougher than Optimus to work as the main bad guy. It was a bad decision to not make him a decepticon, maybe Megatron's boss or something!
Man, you've nailed what it is that I love to collect and motivated me. I loved Diaclone, Microman, and Micro-Change years before I met the Transformers. It's why I've chosen to mostly focus on Diaclone, because of the quality, the connection to the past, it's sophistication, and liberation from having to peg itself to characters.
We had a lot of Gobots when I was a kid. They were smaller and cheaper than transformers but they were cool. Our parents budget didn't stretch to transformers prices.
I only started collecting Transformers in 2021 myself. I think War for Cybertron Kingdom Cyclonus was my first figure, and I was 20 at the time haha so I was late to the party. While I've never owned any original G1 toys, I've handled most of the ones that made it into the first and second seasons of the cartoon, and yeah it's a very different thing. Transformations are usually quick, they're usually pretty sturdy and used lots of diecast and higher quality plastics. There are so many CHUG transformers where certain pegs don't really work, meaning you can't really transform the figure properly unless you fix a problem with some DIY first, and transforming a figure without instructions means you're risking breakage. The current CHUG transformations are so complex, and the figures are so fragile, that I can't really see a 7 year old enjoying them. And some MPs....well....I can easily take a full 15 minutes to transform MP-52 Starscream. And even on a really expensive figure like that I'm always scared I'll break or damage something even while using the instructions. The fact that even mainline CHUG-scale figures take so much time to transform definitely makes it feel like they were designed more with adult collectors in mind, who want to collect figures that look screen-accurate and have lots of articulation so they look nice being displayed, but ultimately weren't really made to be played with. And honestly that's how I collect my transformers - although I've mostly moved away from Hasbro products since, with the occasional exception every now and then when they release a favorite character, like Black Zarak, Deathsaurus, or Ultra Magnus. My "playing" with them consists of putting my figures in a whole bunch of different poses for hours on end and finding new ways to display them. But yeah, they're basically an entirely different thing compared to the original toys, and I can understand why the current Hasbro products don't really interest you. That's an awesome collection by the way. 😁 I hope to one day own some Brave figures too. 😁
The best designs are by Shoji Kawamori (he did Optimus Prime and VF-1 Valkyrie mecha in SDF Macross) because he tries to keep the transform as close to a mech as possible. For example if a human was riding inside the cockpit of the robot when that robot transforms the pilot of the robot doesn't get killed during the transformation. You see this design philosophy in Star Scream and Optimus Prime where you could be the guy inside the robot and control it but if you had to transform back to vehicle mode you don't have to move because the stuff transforms around that pilot meaning it would be considered a mecha as well as autonomous robot. Let us say Starscream was just an AI controlled machine and had no spark in him? A GI Joe could just control the machine as if it were a regular vehicle and not have to die when converting to different modes. Why is Shoji Kawamori significant? He designs it to be realistic enough that we as adult could imagine it to exist. If you like Transformers you owe it to yourself to check out Macross (a whole science fiction show based on transforming space mecha). The same philosophy behind Optimus Prime and StarScream is applied to the transforming valkyrie fighter where the pilot will never get dizzy since the cockpit is the centre-of-mass and so when flying if the pilot transform quickly to robot mode he doesn't have to move. Instead the parts around the cockpit shift and turn and twist to get the robot. All the pilot does is sit in upright position where the chair faces up when going into robot mode. (it sits horizontaly when in space fighter mode) I think Optimus Primes simple transformation is why he is so iconic. The realistic designs have always been my fave transformers over the "robots sitting in fetal position inside a shell of a vehicle" designs. The latter is very lazy and not as pleasing as the simpler and more mecha style transformers. This is why I think I would like to see Transformers rebooted as a mecha show where the aliens are not really aliens but drone AI we sent out to fight on other planets. So for example Optimus Prime is just a rover that delivers cargo but we can take control over the vehicle to manually control it. There is no war between decepticons and autobots, there is just humans using transformers as mecha. (it's as common as using a gun in modern times for self defence. The robot form is how we deal with harsh environments which are not pleasant to walk about in so the robot mecha mode is like an armored spacesuit which is useful for when you have to attack at extremely close range. IE space monster rushes you down very fast to close the distance and you want to punch its face in with an armored fist or cut him up with a lightsaber type weapon)
@@UToobUsername01 you're pretty much describing the original Diaclone story. The car robots were just transforming mecha suits. It wasn't until marvel was brought in to craft a new backstory that the robots gained sentience.
@@classiccomicsforum yes that's why the insectocons had cockpits. lol I would like to see a return to this idea that humans had to make the robots themselves to solve problem of navigating dangerous environments and then fight whatever animals aliens would attack them while they are trying to mine resources and live there. I want more science fiction and less science fantasy is what I am saying. Because my fave designs are ones where people can sit inside the robot mode and not die when the robot transforms into a vehicle. The mecha Idea is useful because if the Alt modes are not disguises, it means they can start to look like other things rather than just civilian vehicles. They could for example have spider mechas that just look cool and not have to look like a LITERAL giant spider. Do you understand? The purpose of the robot is merely to get around and fight properly not to hide from stuff. And if it gets damaged in a fight there is parts that can be replaced so we don't have to worry about the writers constantly having to create plot armor for why a character doesn't die after so many hits. They can have say starscream "die", and it's just his body but his mind is kept in a black box or something so he can be placed in a new machine. (so more realism in battle scenes where robots are getting regularly destroyed in gorey ways that appeals to adults more) I think the reason I like mecha shows is that yes there is real danger in every fight. But for cartoons they never let the good guy wreck the bad guy and blow him to pieces. (ie they have to keep him alive so there is more episodes)
I dig giant robots. You dig giant robots. The early 80s were a pure utopia for giant transforming robots and combiner robots at Children's Palace, and Grandpa Pigeons growing up in St Louis.
transformers was going for a "robots in disguise" thing obviously... but yeah, this seems more like an upgraded megatron than Galvatron was. Hell, its even just megatrons head with "technically" a crown on it. Its funny because future iterations of Megatron... I guess starting with Beast Machines, ditched staying in disguise for more otherworldly alt modes... so this is a glimpse of what might have been. Another thing I should look into, Derrick J. Wyatt loved this stuff... i should go back through the art books to see if he ever considered putting or "hid" stuff like this in animated.
The heft thing definitely applies more to S1 figures, more than S2, or thereafter. But yeah, the heft with a lot of the G1 stuff was partly what made it feel special. I sometimes think, what if I brought back a TF from today, back to 1984? I used to think that kids would be in awe, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe we would still find the original G1 figures more appealing? I know if I brought back my SoC GX-71 that that would get their attention.
@@alienrefugee51 great question I've asked myself on more than one occasion. Sadly, I think it came down to marketing and hype more than quality for 80s kids. I still can't believe GoDaiKin was on American toy shelves at the same time as Transformers and I totally missed them.
@@classiccomicsforum Also, the packaging/artwork played a role as well. The look of those G1 boxes were like magnets to kids. Where I was, the GoDaikin stuff was only in the specialty hobby/toy stores. A bunch of my friends had them, like all of them.
I have a few pre transformers when i was kid living in the early 81-86 in Okinawa, japan. My first robot was gundam rx78. But also got the diaclone jazz, shockwave, and a few others. I use to get made fun off when we moved back to the states in 86. It was due that my transformers didn’t have the holographic stickers like all the USA model transformers did. So my friends were telling me mine were fakes or clones. When actuality mine were the OG from japan. Lol. I still have a few big bots in their original box. One day I’ll make a video of my collection.
@@Lovenpain sadly, that was the point of those stickers. If you weren't buying a Hasbro Transformer, you were buying garbage. Imagine brainwashing children to be intolerant snobs. Amazing.
As a newer Transformers collector, I have been fascinated by the story of Transformers and vintage designs. Not as vintage as Diaclone, but the Armada-Energon-Cybertron era which is my favourite overall. as I consider the last true callback to the glory of the G1 figures. Energon and Cybertron figures are chunky, heavy duty and tough efigies, that contrast with the more abbreviated and complex figures of today. I wish we could get those older figures with the engineering and articulation that is standard nowadays. Imagine Dia Attacker with the gimmicked "automorph" bu with the articulation of a Legacy figure. There are so many designs I would love to see them revisit with modern sensibilities. I knew of Dia Attacker by a 2019 comic, but I never knew it was designed by the same guy that made the Veritechs.
Dude thank you. THANK you for summing up so succinctly why I love G1 Transformers so much. I love being able to pick up say, Skids as a Honda and have a robot 15 seconds later. You legit need an engineering degree to operate many of the newer toys. Like I have Studio Series Bumblebee from the Bumblebee movie and it took me 20 minutes to compact him into his VW mode (and that's with watching transformation tutorials on TH-cam!). Guess what? He's still in VW mode! I haven't touched him since. The G1 toys to me are much more fun to actually mess with, although that feeling of quality may be a bit of a facade. My original 1986 Smokescreen that I broke within a week of getting him as a kid will certainly attest to that.
I recently got back into collecting Transformers and, yeah, you are 100% correct. Those 84/85 toys were a league of their own. The design philosophy was on the detail of the vehicle mode and how to male that a robot and that robot did not conform to a pre-established esthetic. I miss that. Now it's all panel forming to make a car look like a specific character that has to look a specific way for a brand. Anyway, really enjoyable stuff. I am envious of your Dia Atlus. His treads in good shape? The ones I find online are usually sans treads (and literally anything else, really 😂😂) He's on my grail list.
@@nickperoncomedy thanks so much! Dia Atlas is actually a grail for me too. What you're seeing on the shelf is the Titans Return version, not the original.
@@classiccomicsforum awesome! I just checked it!, man, thats so expensive!! hahah, I may just have to wait , its like fishing, just wait until the right time, man I never thought that this disclose was teh first transformer, this info needs to be spread!!! Diaclone's Diattacker should have its own comic book series!
@@josephzanabria9369 thanks much! Yes, he's pricey, but the Kronoform version runs a bit cheaper. The only difference is the missiles fire weaker due to American safety standards.
@@josephzanabria9369 kronoform was still made by Takara but released in the US. It came out right before they made the deal with Hasbro for Transformers.
If transformers cartoon was made after the toys … I don’t know why they made pistol gun as a leader opposite to a truck . It should have been shock wave (toy base I mean ) at least we kids can play with it and they look cool next to each other .
Vintage Star Wars R2-D2 was my "first" Transformer. As a kid, I used to put him in a 90 degree tilt and pretend that he was a cannon. It worked because the bottom of him was an opened barrel. LOL!!
On a side note combattler's popy figure looked more like individiual vehicles as compared to voltes v which lookes more like body parts split into smaller pieces. Also daimos is pronounced more like die-mows as opposed to day-mos however great video i enjoyed! 👍
Diaclone and Microman are 2 awesome toy lines. Their transformable robot series were the stuff Hasbro got to create their TF brand. Solid die-cast toys, beautifully mades, with detailed vehicle/tiny object modes and powerful robot design. 1984-85 series 1 &2, for me are the BEST toys in all the history of this brand. From 1986 the new toys specifically made for the toy brand became cheaper and less interesting, with notable exceptions.
Couldn't agree more! A big part of that was because Diaclone, itself, started churning out cheaper quality toys after the 1982 releases due in large part to an economic recession in Japan. Going simpler and all plastic saved the company money and made their toys cheaper for parents to buy too. Fortunately, there were some other equally awesome toy lines happening around the same time that are well worth checking out. Stay tuned for future videos!
It was simply Hasbro's "fault". Here in Italy, I remember well, at the beginning of the eighties, the toy company GiG imported the complete Diaclone series and between 1983 and 1984 its sub-brand Car Robots renamed "Auto Robot - Trasformer" (without the N and S). The latter had a resounding success and despite coexisting with the traditional Diaclone it was immediately understood that this line was selling more. So Hasbro then merged this line with those of other companies (from which, for example, those that would have been Soundwave, Megatron or the Insecticons) and created the Transformers brand, which also arrived here in Europe as we know it today. It was a shame because the Diaclone - Micro Man line was really quality, interesting, playable, beautiful but was then forgotten for a long time.
I don't fault Hasbro for what they did. After all, in America Takara had already tried selling these toys directly as Kronoform and Diakron, and it wasn't working. Hasbro knew how to sell these guys. I just regret what we lost in the process.
@@classiccomicsforum I agree. But in fact I put the word "fault" in quotation marks. I absolutely understand what Hasbro did and in the end they were completely right given the success it achieved. I'm sorry that the Diaclone line has been completely forgotten, at least until today: I've seen that many models are coming back in a modern way although they don't have the push of the "Transformers" brand which is now an absolute must.
I am sorry, I missed a lot of what you said cause my jaws was on the floor while staring at your Brave collection. Oh and that Goggle Robo, Combatler V, achine Dolphin, and other vintage sentai and Godaikin stuff are cool too I guess. Lol I personally only have King Exkaizer, GaoGaiGar, and Goldymarg. Original Brave stuff are just extremely expensive nowadays to collect.
@@lanoche I was very lucky to have begun collecting in the late 1990s, when all of this was so much cheaper! I've still been able to pick up some great stuff at good prices in recent years, but it's a lot fewer and farther between. My apologies to your jaw, by the way!
@@classiccomicsforum Yeah I got back to collecting Sentai mechs and what not around 2013ish. Funny story really, get a bottle of beer cause it will be a bit of a long one. I'm an immigrant from the Philippines, so you know whatever toys I had were practically gone cause we had to give it away when we liquidated our stuff but I did get to keep the Thunder Megazord and brought it to where we moved. One night out of boredom years later, I took it out of my closet and took some pictures to post on facebook as a nostalgia thing. An old co-worker saw my post and offered to buy them off me, I told him no cause the reason I brought that is because it had extreme sentimental value to me. But I got curious about the toys so I checked ebay to see how much the toys are and then searched for loose parts cause mine was missing A LOT and a White Tigerzord then pulled the trigger on those. It only took that one buy to start my addiction again. My collecting got accelerated when I found out the difference between the Japan and American releases so I just kept buying the Japanese versions cause they usually have better lights and sounds feature, Diecast that were removed in the American version, paint applications that were also missing with the American version and Show accurate stickers. And that's actually when I practically became a Japanese only collector for these mechs cause the American stuff got gutted so they could have sold it for a lot cheaper in ToyRUs and whatnot back in the day. I was actually hiding my jealousy and calling the Godaikin stuff as "are cool too I guess" when they're practically some of the holy grails, the biggest one being Voltes V as you know how Filipinos are extremely crazy for that series. Then like a year after I started on the collection Journey, I got back into Transformers and that only when I found out about Braves. I knew them as toys back in my time in the Philippines cause I had a bunch of them growing up. They were not legit thought, they were almost 100% complete knockoffs that had a gimmick like electronics removed but ALL the functionality were kept. But when I checked the Brave stuff, their prices are already enough for one person to mortgage a house. I got lucky getting those what I got but I hope to own more and I have been saying that for the past 8 years now cause life and other expenses gets in the way for me to commit like $300~800 PLUS Import taxes PLUS Shipping cost for a single vintage robot figure. I do get vintage stuff of Sentai or whatever mech I could get my hands on every so often if I do find for a reasonable price.
@@lanoche that's an awesome story. I love hearing from fans who don't just see it as collecting, but rather as a pursuit of joy. I'm so glad that the hardships of immigration didn't rob you of that joy, my friend.
@@classiccomicsforum Thanks man, yeah took a while but once the ball got rolling everything kinda fell into place. Still I refuse to pay exorbitant amounts of money for some of them. I'd eventually find it for cheap anyways like I usually do. I just need to always keep my eyes open and make sure I got the money ready when it does happen. By the way, I edited my reply a bit cause I had some typos. I wrote it while I was a bit sleepy so I missed some stuff.
@@lanoche I hear you there. My problem is I make best offers on auctions, assuming they'll never be accepted, and then suddenly I've won three pricey bots at one time! No, that certainly didn't happen to me just last week...
I hope Takara has plans to release a new Dia-Attacker as part of their Diaclone reboot in the near future. Also, I was going to mention the Exarchon thing but a quick skim through the comments and it seems someone already has. Clearly you aren’t the only one who thinks Dia-Attacker’s design is worthy of villainy since someone working on the Transformers comics similarly had the idea.
My dad sent me some toys when he was stationed in Okinawa in the 70's, one was an orange and black vehicle that came with a 4 inch figure in green and gray armor I think, it had a spring loaded eject seat on the back and I think one of the stickers said Don Hakka or something?
@@arctrooper999 sounds like Microman. I couldn't tell you the specific toy, but vehicles for 4 inch figures in the 1970s would have been right up their alley.
Fantastic video and thanks for telling me about this particular Diaclone figure I knew the history of diaclone but as you said even this guy gets overlooked I saw some brave series figures in the background, that's so cool It makes me sad that other TF fans are just unaware of or just have no interest in the brave series considering the history and connection it has There's tons of transforming robot anime from the 80s and 90s like Galvion, Megazone 23, Gold Lightan, Baldios, Brave series etc Definitely subscribing. Hope you cover more Diaclone, Chogokin (new and old) and other transforming robots. Personally i only have the chogokin Leopardon from the japanese spiderman series and it can transform from the Marveller ship into the actual Leopardon robot itself It's a newer show but you might wanna check out Bang Bravern which is releasing its titular transforming robot toy in 2025 lol
I will definitely check that out! You mentioned both of the ideas I'm wavering between for the next episode: Takara Brave or the history of Super Sentai leading up to a discussion of the DX combiners. What do you think I should go with?
@@classiccomicsforum I think either is fine but I'd definitely love to see some videos regarding the brave series, if you ever get around to king of braves GaoGaiGar, that would be cool too
I thought some of the toys that made up the eventual transformers line dated back to the mid 70s?? I remember seeing dates like 1974 on my old transformers.
Good question! 1974 is the year Microman began. Some of the G1 Transformers (Megatron, Soundwave, Reflector, and a few others) came from Microchange, a 1982 subset of the Microman line. So they can have a 1974 copyright and still be more recent than the 1981 Diattacker.
You are so right. Dicast Metal makes the best toys. I got a working gold colored metal lighter, that transforms into a robot. Found it in an NYC pawn shop back in the 80s.
there is also Tatsunoko's Gold Lightan as in a sentient robot that turns into a golden cigarette lighter and his friends who turns into tools and stationary, the toys are made by Bandai.
Interesting. I admit I don't know a lot about These Japanese original toys But I think they should have gone with this one for the design for Megatron. his size his alt mode seemed like credible threats more so than his gun mode in the G1 series. I mean I can see his vehicle mode as some sort of cybertonian fighter maybe as a almost like a scorpion kind of mode and where Optimist has roller this “Megatron “ has those little scout fighters that he can use for even smaller surveillance than say laser beak and buzz saw but also to attack in a battle. I think that they all dropped the ball on this one and they should have gone with this for a design on Megatron.
Couldn't agree more! Unfortunately, someone at Hasbro decided that they had to look real-world, as the original concept was "Robots in disguise," even if the comics and cartoon never even tried for that approach.
In the Alex Irvine book he talks about the golden age of Cybertron and that the reason the cybertronians have cockpits is a long-forgotten reason that even the Cybertonians don't know why but the truth is at one point in the long distant past Cybertonians were part of a larger alliance of other alien beings due to spacebridge technology. The spacebridge allowed them to venture further into the galaxy and share technology and knowledge with other alien races who the Transformers would accommodate their alt modes to allow humanoids of alien races to ride inside of them. It completely just dawned on me that that was probably that writers way of paying homage to Diaclone and toys like this.
On the topic of combiners: I only really like combiners if the combining happens in space in a zero G environment. I think the concept of docking with a spaceship (like a ship joins up to another ship to become one bigger ship makes a lot of sense in space, but not on land imo). I never like combination on ground. It just feels like it works best in space.
It's not the only oddity. If you actually take a critical look at Ironhide and Ratchet, you can clearly see that Ironhide was originally meant to be MC-18 Lock Robo Magne Man and when Hasbro made the desing mandate of (devices are Decepticons), he was reskinned into a somewhat passable animated depiction of the Onebox Cherry Vanette. Take a close look at Ironhide's animation head - it's clearly MC-18's!
I think there's something to be said about Transformers, early Transformers, what one would consider to be the first Transformers needing to be a realistic alternate mode. I will say though that this figure you showed could be an excellent figure to revive in the likes of the Japanese late 80's early 90's Transformers. I'd certainly buy a modern interpretation for sure.
@@straker454 Interestingly enough, they launched a reimagined Diaclone line in 2015 that's still going today, and they covered nearly all of the 1981 robots...but no Diattacker. I love the new series, but it's definitely more of a modern reimagining than a celebration of what made the vintage series exceptional. A reimagining in the spirit of the late '80s/early '90s Transformers though? I'd definitely be intrigued.
@@classiccomicsforum I had looked at the new Diaclone to see if I could make a "Cybertronian" out of them and they just...didn't hit the mark for me. There's a charm to early Diaclone missing from the new ones. That sort of 70's sensibility that is missing. A sort of 70's futurism and sci-fi of Japan that instead moved towards realism...and partforming, lol. I think that's something I liked about the Haslab version of Victory Saber. They retained all the fourishes from the original design that worked. I feel that Hasbro making Diattacker as an Autobot or Decepticon would be a great place to put it.
@@straker454 yes, and I think Diaclone's move away from the charm you and I are looking for is purposeful, as was particularly evident when they released the new Battle Convoy as if to deliberately show the world that they were moving towards a very different vibe than anything that resembled classic Transformers. I love that retro futurism too, and late Chogokin/GoDaiKin remains my favorite place to get it. Too bad the future doesn't seem bright and shiny to kids anymore.
@@classiccomicsforum Right? That Battle Convoy was...neat but not a Convoy. I kinda wanted it until I watched a review for it. It's too bad they moved away from a more Transformers version of it, because the crossover appeal is lost. Meanwhile Hasbro is releasing Diaclone colored repaints of Transformers that have that feel. Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus is just Powered Convoy. Burnout is a Diaclone colored version if Skids and so on. Very true. You'd think retro futurism would be somewhat more popular but I guess that's only when it's been blown up like in Fallout, lol.
Nowadays the joy is in some Tobots (Young Toys) and Metal Cardbots (MGA Entertainment). Bandai and Takara have some fun stuff too, but it's japanese exclusive, which is shame.
1. Delegitimizing Raideen as the first transformable robot is hard to excuse. 2. Voltes V is pronounced "Vol-tess," not "Volts." 3. Daimos is pronounced "Die-mohs," not "Day-mohs."
I appreciate the feedback. Thank you! As for Raideen, calling him the first also ignores the Horikawa Changeman and others like him. That's why I'm focusing on what I call The Early Modern Era of Transforming Robots. Raideen transformed for sure; just not in as sophisticated a fashion as what followed.
@@jeremiahsacks2868 I seriously debated whether or not to give him a whirl, ultimately deciding that, while I respect the attempt to marry blocky retro with modern posability, the G1 original was perfect in my eyes; posability was never a concern for me. In fact, about fifteen years back, I bought three different versions of the original and kitbashed them to create a perfect version that never previously existed. Might need to do a video on that one day.
True. In fact, Diaclone put a stop to its usage of die-cast before Hasbro even acquired the rights because there was a major economic recession in Japan in (I believe) 1983. Thus the Diaclone toys after 1982 are pretty cheap for the most part. I do believe you can create great heft with good design and quality plastic; diecast just helps.
His design was used to become Exarchon, the main villain of the 2019's reboot of the IDW Transformers comic. The toy was actually his original form before the Quintessons experimented on him in which he became the Threefold Spark.
@@SwedishSeacon seriously? I'm going to have to check that out. Thank you.
I don't know if you'll get this but I have a Japanese version of Soundwave with a copyright date of 1978 behind the back plate that comes off where the two batteries that turn into guns go. You said these Transformers were from 1981 so why does my sound wave have a copyright date of 1978? It's the original Japanese version with the Japanese writing and the 1978 date.
I also have a giant funky transforming robot that nobody can identify he turns from a yellow and blue Eagle into a robot parts of it are black parts of it are yellow parts of it are blue and it's massive in both modes it's like a flip Plus and it dwarfs most 1980s Transformers other than Omega Supreme and Metroplex I think it's from GoBots but nobody's ever been able to identify it had it since I was like seven or eight
@10:22 As a Macross fan it really spun me out when I read read that Shoji Kawamori also designed the original Convoy, aka Optimus Prime, toy.
It definitely blew my mind too!
He also designed the Gundam mk II and Z Gundam. It explains why Convoy looks like a Gundam.
These aren't even some of his most ingenious work on Diaclone. Check out Twin Combat (which I'm lucky enough to own) and Double Soldier. Those 2 are absolutely brilliant and the direct spiritual ancestor to Punch-Counterpunch.
@@arx3516 I'm a bit late to the party, but Kawamori didn't design the Z Gundam: it was based off a design from Kazumi Fujita, but "redefined" a bit by Kunio Ookawara because Fujita design was much more "extreme" (and you can see it in the "Fujita Version" of the gunplas). Kawamori designed the Gundam GP-01 from Gundam 0083, which is one gorgeous looking Gundam, basically a reinterpretation of the original Gundam with smooth curves and flowing proportions.
Really loving all the Brave figures I can see in the background. So glad to see someone else who appreciates them.
Your comment makes me feel the same! I'm going to do a Brave video soon.
I'd appreciate the heck out of them if I had the money to buy them haha
Those things are expensive as heck if you try to buy them now!
I love the Yuusha/Brave franchise. I'm sad I wasn't around when it happened! Same way I feel about G1 and Beast Wars.
But yeah that's a great collection.
@@JaceyMitchell they were so much cheaper when I started, but you can still find bargains if you don't need MIB.
Your channel is amazing, your philosophy behind what makes a good transformer is great and I absolutely agree with you, love your videos, keep up the good work and I really hope you make many more videos, I'm so happy I found your channel!
I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Thanks so much for your kind words. I'll do my best to live up to them!
The Daimos robot was awesome. It was piloted by a man who drove a car that turbo boosted to interface with the rolling thunder in wheels size of a cruise ship transformed into Daimos controls similar to how they controlled the pacific rim bots mind you the concept went way back in the 70s!
@@dudespin some of those concepts were so classic!
And the plot was basically sci-fi Romeo and Juliet.
@@arx3516 always interesting the connection between giant super robots and love in Japan.
This guy would look so cool if he was recolored into that giant holographic Autobot warrior Hound used to fool Devastator in "Heavy Metal War"!
The holographic One that looks like broadside?
@jasonparis5635 the giant white, grey, red, and blue Autobot
@@autobotlaserbolt2128 halonix maximus is the name
@uainjansun Yeah, him! Dia-Attacker kinda reminds me of him.
That character needs a commander size figure.
That's really cool! Lots of awesome history here, man!
My wife and I now have seven grandkids (I was ten when the OG Transformers series came out) and they eyeball my collection of G1 and MP's and I'm always all; "Don't EEEEVEN think about it..."
So we went and got some of the Hasbro plastic Transformers Hero toys and they love them. I looked at a couple and found that their transformation isn't too dissimilar from the G1 toys - only with rounded, lightweight plastic so you don't stab your brother or cousin safety. But I made a comment to my wife of how the kind of went olde skoole with them and they still looked good and are "real world" in appearance. Makes me kind of lament for the old days, ya know?
But great video, dude! Keep up the good work!
I do the same with my kids. We really got into Titans Return together, which I think is the best Transformers line since the original in terms of sheer imagination. Some of the newer stuff is very very close to the original (and clearly modelled after it) but the heft is missing, as is some of the smoothness/fluidity in the transformation. They're not bad, but I would have liked to have seen Transformers improving in the 40 years since G1 instead of just coming close to almost being as good as the originals.
I get it: folks want realism and cartoon accuracy. That's just not what I've ever been looking for, myself.
I firmly believe that a few strange incongruities such as "a truck-robot fighting a gun-robot despite their size differences" are exactly what creates great fiction that endures for a long time. That weirdness is what gives it the spark of imagination that kids don't even think twice about.
Agreed.
A few years ago I picked up a transformers lot from the Netherlands (super cheap) that had intact G1 Grimlock/French made Optimus Prime and Starscream body.
But the crown jewel of the lot was the KO Attackbot body without accessories . It is almost an exact copy of the DiaAttacker. it doesn't have all of the same accessories but has some awesome weapons. It is equally as high quality and beautiful as the Diaclone.
Diattacker looks like he's form Cybertron's ancient past, one of the first Autobot's who adopt the art of transformation.
I would guess that Hasbro chose the gun since it resembled an earth device. Everything in that first wave was something recognizable and you wouldn't expect it to be a "robot in disguise". Diattacker on the other hand looks like an alien ship and breaks the theme. You would kind of expect to do something extraordinary. I do kind of remember some vending company using a picture of him back in the day on some instructions that were included with a toy you would get out of those quarter crank vending machines. There were like 15 pieces of varying solid colors, maybe more, that you could collect and form a robot that sort of resembled Diattacker. Each kind of looked like an eraser but harder plastic. I only ever got one as a kid. I wish I had gotten more. Because now all it is, is a vague memory and I don't know what they called it.
Interesting! Takara made two earlier attempts to bring Diaclone to the American market directly with both Diakron and Kronoform. The product you saw was likely an offshoot of one of those efforts. I know Diattacker was released as part of the Kronoform line. I'm not sure if he was a part of Diakron.
@@classiccomicsforum After typing my comment the mystery was nagging at me so after a little research between google and tfwiki it seems those toys were referred to as "keshi" in Japan and the robot they formed may have been Gats Blocker. I think I had gotten a foot with the quarter I begged my grandma for. LOL Like most companies, that vending company was looking to capitalize on the Transformers/Gobots craze at the time. Funny how they came up with that particular robot to bring into the states.
Love your videos and enthusiasm for the topic. Couldn't subscribe fast enough.
@@Fuzsen thank you!
Imagine the alternate universe where hasbro chose Diattacker as Megatron
diattacker got a deathsaurus vibe with his horn and the chest part
Good call!
@@classiccomicsforum Diaclone reboot are awesome
True, but looking at the shoulders, the arms and the upper chest, I'm thinking Overlord
Love the Brave toys on your shelf. So cool and under appreciated. I've been collecting them since the 90's.
@@torbinbequette Thanks. I'm definitely going to do a video on Brave soon. So underappreciated!
You are absolutely right!! I have been collecting transforming robots since the early 80s and your criteria fits the bill. The transformers that came after the mid 80s (in other words the toys that were not modeled off diac lone or MicroMan were just not the same).
Great video I miss when transfromers came with the little guys with magnet feet.
Im curious have you made a or know of a video about displaying transformers,I got back into collecting transformers then went back into my old collection and remembered they display poorly,it always looks like a cluttered mess to me no matter what.It seems like less is more with transformers when it come to display.
I definitely agree that less is more. Unfortunately, space is also hard to come by as one's collection grows. I'm constantly struggling to find space for new acquisitions, myself.
I bought the Daimos cartoon (Starbirds) for $1 at a 99 cent shop long before that was normally a thing for DVD.
Would you believe I worked in retail with the husband of one of the animators for Daimos (she married an Australian and they were living in Sydney at the time), and she gifted me with a signed animation cell from the finisher move?
9:43 I very much see where Bayverse Starscream got his inspiration from! Very informative video!
Thank you!
My dude, the current Legacy/Studio Series line is not for kids. The kids toys are still out there! Did you even try out the Smash Changer Optimus Primal?? That thing is rad!
This channel is a gem 💎, subscribed.
@@adpt01 thank you!
We didn't get Diaclone in the UK, but many of those designs were licensed to a company called Grandstand and recoloured and rebranded as Converters. Your Cosmoroller, to us, was the Deltarian Tracker... The Diatrain became the Deltarian Shuttle.
The big centrepiece figure in line (which, alas, I never got), was Omegatron... which was a repackaged Toybox Mechabot-1; this figure would also be redecoed in Transformers as Omega Supreme, but the presence of Omegatron meant that we never got OS here...
And the Diattacker was part of that line as well, known as Zetanoid.
As it turns out, Zoid pilots fit pretty well in those seats, too, which is what I did in the absence of Diaclone figures.
I've been an admirer of Granstand Converters for decades now. Love seeing familiar toys recycled into new branding. Perhaps my favorite of these was the version of Cosmoroller released in all white as a promotion for Atari. There was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles version too!
That's why I buy a lot of Cybertron stuff. The Cybertron figures are often more complex than G1, but have that chunky transformation. I think some officially licenced figures are still great like the SS dinobots. Interesting video for sure, never heard of this figure before. 1960s - 1980s Japanese robots had this great aesthetic no one can replicate for some reason!
So agree! I especially love the 1980s Japanese Popy combiners and plan to do videos on some of them soon.
WOW I did not know about him..... He would have made an excellent decepticon
The Diattacker looks like he would be a Decepticon. In cartoon continuity, he could've been on Cybertron with Shockwave. Hasbro could've made him available as a mail-away offer, like they did with Reflector. There was room for this guy.
@@billrules8716 Sunbow needed you on their team!
I had never seen or heard of this toy before. Very cool looking missing piece of history.
Great video. Great points also. I often refer to modern toys as "what passes for a transformer today" for exactly the reasons you gave.
Looking behind you I see Fire Duke and j Dekker combined, goldran, and fighbird combined with granbird. These in my opinion are a few of the greatest transformers ever made.
@@DonSchomer thanks so much! If you're a Brave fan, check out the newest video.
Really enjoyed this presentation! Very informative and thorough, insightful and I learned some stuff. Given the title I (almost) assumed you were going to spring a surprise that true transforming figures started years before Diaclones, but it landed roughly where I thought it would’ve - as the Diaclones line evolved. Great stuff. 😎
@@XMattingly thank you much!
The gun was chosen because he's an earth mode. "Robots in Disguise" It should be mentioned that the first car Diaclone was the countach LP500S (later becoming Sunstreaker) Great video, love your collection!
Thank you!
G1 actually looked real in both forms, with transformations that were POSSIBLE, and didn't require turning into mechanical mush as in those films
Shogun Warriors were my favorite way back in the day.
I know this will sound weird at first, but might I recommend getting a makeup brush for your collection? They are great tools for getting the dust off your figures and they are also really soft, so you don't have to worry about damaging anything. Mine is bright pink and purple lol.
That's an excellent tip. Thank you! I'll look into it.
I really hate how modern basically lost the plot on transformation. It's become a game of more complicated=good and chasing show accuracy to the point the robot mode veneers are largely fake alt-mode bits. The satisfaction of finding how this vehicle part becomes a robot part isn't their anymore.
Absolutely!
Very nice presentation and information…subscribed
@@theafroalien3169 thank you much!
Dieattacker: What was that?
Prime: Err Nothing?
Dieattacker: Yeah you just said something under your breath.
Prime: No. No I didn't.
Dieattacker: YOU SAID OMEGA SUPREME!! Dude what f**k!?
Very nice video. I had the first Diaclone vehicle you showed. Neat little toy. Never knew of thos guy. Just beautiful.
Thank you!
Very good information I never knew.
@@ShaneSkaalerud-nk2jk thank you!
i have a bootleg dai attaker that was a gif from my grandfather back in 86,it was given to me in a birthday like box, but missed some accessories, no weapons, no horns, lost the gimick of rocket punches (that part was a company error, also has no available mini figures like all the diaclone have) yeah, the dai attaker could have been an awesome character for a TV series, to bad Hasbro didn't pick him up, it has potential to be an autobot commander.
It's fascinating how wildly these guys circulated in bootlegs during the '80s. What a cool memory and gift (even if incomplete)!
Just so this video and I agree on so many point, I had the same Lancia Stratos toy as a kid. I was just thinking modern remakes of G1 transformers look gorgeous in robot form and vehicle form, but their transformation is just "open this panel and hide stuff inside, close the panel, snap it somewhere".
100%!
Dude, one of my babysitters had that. Was worried I might break it lol
Honestly thought this was going to be about Cosmo Countach from 1978.
A great design for its time for sure, but I'd definitely classify it as belonging to an earlier era of transforming toy.
14:32 call him devilbot the hellish Autobot warrior.
This guys us super cool! I wonder if they felt like he looked too much bigger and tougher than Optimus to work as the main bad guy. It was a bad decision to not make him a decepticon, maybe Megatron's boss or something!
Loved this! Had no idea about a lot of this! subscribed!
Thank you!
Man, you've nailed what it is that I love to collect and motivated me. I loved Diaclone, Microman, and Micro-Change years before I met the Transformers. It's why I've chosen to mostly focus on Diaclone, because of the quality, the connection to the past, it's sophistication, and liberation from having to peg itself to characters.
@@anthonybird546 well said! I intend to cover some other toy lines of similar quality in my next few videos. Hopefully you'll like them too!
so in vintage Japanese toys the colorways that were: red, white, blue, and yellow were often referred to as hero colors
@@MtgVeteran in Diaclone, at least, a lot of black was used as well. Just not with Diattacker.
We had a lot of Gobots when I was a kid. They were smaller and cheaper than transformers but they were cool. Our parents budget didn't stretch to transformers prices.
@@milanondrak5564 we got so many cheap knock offs that, in hindsight, were so much fun. I hope to spotlight some in future videos, and Go-Bots too!
12:25 Duh, there's obviously an energy-barrier forcefield ... 😛
I hear ya and agree. Gen 1 transformers or tankar before they joined Hasbro. I also like the older generation of video games
I only started collecting Transformers in 2021 myself. I think War for Cybertron Kingdom Cyclonus was my first figure, and I was 20 at the time haha so I was late to the party. While I've never owned any original G1 toys, I've handled most of the ones that made it into the first and second seasons of the cartoon, and yeah it's a very different thing. Transformations are usually quick, they're usually pretty sturdy and used lots of diecast and higher quality plastics. There are so many CHUG transformers where certain pegs don't really work, meaning you can't really transform the figure properly unless you fix a problem with some DIY first, and transforming a figure without instructions means you're risking breakage. The current CHUG transformations are so complex, and the figures are so fragile, that I can't really see a 7 year old enjoying them. And some MPs....well....I can easily take a full 15 minutes to transform MP-52 Starscream. And even on a really expensive figure like that I'm always scared I'll break or damage something even while using the instructions.
The fact that even mainline CHUG-scale figures take so much time to transform definitely makes it feel like they were designed more with adult collectors in mind, who want to collect figures that look screen-accurate and have lots of articulation so they look nice being displayed, but ultimately weren't really made to be played with.
And honestly that's how I collect my transformers - although I've mostly moved away from Hasbro products since, with the occasional exception every now and then when they release a favorite character, like Black Zarak, Deathsaurus, or Ultra Magnus. My "playing" with them consists of putting my figures in a whole bunch of different poses for hours on end and finding new ways to display them. But yeah, they're basically an entirely different thing compared to the original toys, and I can understand why the current Hasbro products don't really interest you.
That's an awesome collection by the way. 😁 I hope to one day own some Brave figures too. 😁
@@JaceyMitchell thank you. Great take on modern Transformers!
The best designs are by Shoji Kawamori (he did Optimus Prime and VF-1 Valkyrie mecha in SDF Macross) because he tries to keep the transform as close to a mech as possible. For example if a human was riding inside the cockpit of the robot when that robot transforms the pilot of the robot doesn't get killed during the transformation. You see this design philosophy in Star Scream and Optimus Prime where you could be the guy inside the robot and control it but if you had to transform back to vehicle mode you don't have to move because the stuff transforms around that pilot meaning it would be considered a mecha as well as autonomous robot. Let us say Starscream was just an AI controlled machine and had no spark in him? A GI Joe could just control the machine as if it were a regular vehicle and not have to die when converting to different modes.
Why is Shoji Kawamori significant? He designs it to be realistic enough that we as adult could imagine it to exist. If you like Transformers you owe it to yourself to check out Macross (a whole science fiction show based on transforming space mecha). The same philosophy behind Optimus Prime and StarScream is applied to the transforming valkyrie fighter where the pilot will never get dizzy since the cockpit is the centre-of-mass and so when flying if the pilot transform quickly to robot mode he doesn't have to move. Instead the parts around the cockpit shift and turn and twist to get the robot. All the pilot does is sit in upright position where the chair faces up when going into robot mode. (it sits horizontaly when in space fighter mode)
I think Optimus Primes simple transformation is why he is so iconic. The realistic designs have always been my fave transformers over the "robots sitting in fetal position inside a shell of a vehicle" designs. The latter is very lazy and not as pleasing as the simpler and more mecha style transformers. This is why I think I would like to see Transformers rebooted as a mecha show where the aliens are not really aliens but drone AI we sent out to fight on other planets. So for example Optimus Prime is just a rover that delivers cargo but we can take control over the vehicle to manually control it. There is no war between decepticons and autobots, there is just humans using transformers as mecha. (it's as common as using a gun in modern times for self defence. The robot form is how we deal with harsh environments which are not pleasant to walk about in so the robot mecha mode is like an armored spacesuit which is useful for when you have to attack at extremely close range. IE space monster rushes you down very fast to close the distance and you want to punch its face in with an armored fist or cut him up with a lightsaber type weapon)
@@UToobUsername01 you're pretty much describing the original Diaclone story. The car robots were just transforming mecha suits. It wasn't until marvel was brought in to craft a new backstory that the robots gained sentience.
@@classiccomicsforum yes that's why the insectocons had cockpits. lol I would like to see a return to this idea that humans had to make the robots themselves to solve problem of navigating dangerous environments and then fight whatever animals aliens would attack them while they are trying to mine resources and live there. I want more science fiction and less science fantasy is what I am saying. Because my fave designs are ones where people can sit inside the robot mode and not die when the robot transforms into a vehicle. The mecha Idea is useful because if the Alt modes are not disguises, it means they can start to look like other things rather than just civilian vehicles. They could for example have spider mechas that just look cool and not have to look like a LITERAL giant spider. Do you understand? The purpose of the robot is merely to get around and fight properly not to hide from stuff. And if it gets damaged in a fight there is parts that can be replaced so we don't have to worry about the writers constantly having to create plot armor for why a character doesn't die after so many hits. They can have say starscream "die", and it's just his body but his mind is kept in a black box or something so he can be placed in a new machine. (so more realism in battle scenes where robots are getting regularly destroyed in gorey ways that appeals to adults more)
I think the reason I like mecha shows is that yes there is real danger in every fight. But for cartoons they never let the good guy wreck the bad guy and blow him to pieces. (ie they have to keep him alive so there is more episodes)
I dig giant robots.
You dig giant robots.
The early 80s were a pure utopia for giant transforming robots and combiner robots at Children's Palace, and Grandpa Pigeons growing up in St Louis.
transformers was going for a "robots in disguise" thing obviously... but yeah, this seems more like an upgraded megatron than Galvatron was. Hell, its even just megatrons head with "technically" a crown on it. Its funny because future iterations of Megatron... I guess starting with Beast Machines, ditched staying in disguise for more otherworldly alt modes... so this is a glimpse of what might have been.
Another thing I should look into, Derrick J. Wyatt loved this stuff... i should go back through the art books to see if he ever considered putting or "hid" stuff like this in animated.
Good point about Beast Machines, a series I haven't given enough attention to in my own collecting.
The heft thing definitely applies more to S1 figures, more than S2, or thereafter. But yeah, the heft with a lot of the G1 stuff was partly what made it feel special. I sometimes think, what if I brought back a TF from today, back to 1984? I used to think that kids would be in awe, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe we would still find the original G1 figures more appealing? I know if I brought back my SoC GX-71 that that would get their attention.
@@alienrefugee51 great question I've asked myself on more than one occasion. Sadly, I think it came down to marketing and hype more than quality for 80s kids. I still can't believe GoDaiKin was on American toy shelves at the same time as Transformers and I totally missed them.
@@classiccomicsforum Also, the packaging/artwork played a role as well. The look of those G1 boxes were like magnets to kids. Where I was, the GoDaikin stuff was only in the specialty hobby/toy stores. A bunch of my friends had them, like all of them.
I have a few pre transformers when i was kid living in the early 81-86 in Okinawa, japan. My first robot was gundam rx78. But also got the diaclone jazz, shockwave, and a few others. I use to get made fun off when we moved back to the states in 86. It was due that my transformers didn’t have the holographic stickers like all the USA model transformers did. So my friends were telling me mine were fakes or clones. When actuality mine were the OG from japan. Lol. I still have a few big bots in their original box. One day I’ll make a video of my collection.
@@Lovenpain sadly, that was the point of those stickers. If you weren't buying a Hasbro Transformer, you were buying garbage. Imagine brainwashing children to be intolerant snobs. Amazing.
@@classiccomicsforum FACTS!! Totally agree as well. But it’s all good. ;)
As a newer Transformers collector, I have been fascinated by the story of Transformers and vintage designs. Not as vintage as Diaclone, but the Armada-Energon-Cybertron era which is my favourite overall. as I consider the last true callback to the glory of the G1 figures. Energon and Cybertron figures are chunky, heavy duty and tough efigies, that contrast with the more abbreviated and complex figures of today. I wish we could get those older figures with the engineering and articulation that is standard nowadays. Imagine Dia Attacker with the gimmicked "automorph" bu with the articulation of a Legacy figure. There are so many designs I would love to see them revisit with modern sensibilities. I knew of Dia Attacker by a 2019 comic, but I never knew it was designed by the same guy that made the Veritechs.
Diaclone? I had one and it's Trailblazer. The metal on that toy ruined the plastic leg.
This is a great video. Interesting toy and your passion comes through. This is why we collect toys. I look forward to seeing more videos from you.
@@havanowoncheese thanks so much!
It looks like wheeljack.
@@exiledeternity7852 that is wheeljack. Keep watching.
Dude thank you. THANK you for summing up so succinctly why I love G1 Transformers so much. I love being able to pick up say, Skids as a Honda and have a robot 15 seconds later. You legit need an engineering degree to operate many of the newer toys. Like I have Studio Series Bumblebee from the Bumblebee movie and it took me 20 minutes to compact him into his VW mode (and that's with watching transformation tutorials on TH-cam!). Guess what? He's still in VW mode! I haven't touched him since. The G1 toys to me are much more fun to actually mess with, although that feeling of quality may be a bit of a facade. My original 1986 Smokescreen that I broke within a week of getting him as a kid will certainly attest to that.
@@danmccarthy4700 so glad to be discovering other like-minded folks through this channel! Fans of simple, blocky, die-cast transforming robots unite!
Dude looks like a Shogun Warrior.
I recognize two of those diecast robot toys behind you that I was gifted as a kid, the Goggle V and the Daiturn 3.
@@raulzavala9061 good eye!
The demon horns, to me, resemble some samurai helmets which would explain why it was put on a hero figurine sense it came from Japan.
Good call!
I recently got back into collecting Transformers and, yeah, you are 100% correct. Those 84/85 toys were a league of their own. The design philosophy was on the detail of the vehicle mode and how to male that a robot and that robot did not conform to a pre-established esthetic. I miss that. Now it's all panel forming to make a car look like a specific character that has to look a specific way for a brand.
Anyway, really enjoyable stuff. I am envious of your Dia Atlus. His treads in good shape? The ones I find online are usually sans treads (and literally anything else, really 😂😂) He's on my grail list.
@@nickperoncomedy thanks so much! Dia Atlas is actually a grail for me too. What you're seeing on the shelf is the Titans Return version, not the original.
love this video, i want to buy that transformer, whats the spelling of this first transformer?
@@josephzanabria9369 I'm glad you enjoyed it. He is the Diaclone Diattacker.
@@classiccomicsforum awesome! I just checked it!, man, thats so expensive!! hahah, I may just have to wait , its like fishing, just wait until the right time, man I never thought that this disclose was teh first transformer, this info needs to be spread!!! Diaclone's Diattacker should have its own comic book series!
@@josephzanabria9369 thanks much! Yes, he's pricey, but the Kronoform version runs a bit cheaper. The only difference is the missiles fire weaker due to American safety standards.
@@classiccomicsforum ohhh, mm I want the Japanese original one, how can I search that one, just by taker made?, I the Kronoform one made by hasbro ?
@@josephzanabria9369 kronoform was still made by Takara but released in the US. It came out right before they made the deal with Hasbro for Transformers.
If transformers cartoon was made after the toys … I don’t know why they made pistol gun as a leader opposite to a truck . It should have been shock wave (toy base I mean ) at least we kids can play with it and they look cool next to each other .
And, even if they were going to go with a gun, the Microchange Robocolt was a way better gun.
I did recently dip into the new diaclone toys. really fun.
something really fun about those dianaut pilots
subscribed
@@kidchuckle thanks! I do love New Diaclone, but it feels totally different than the original to me. The new pilots keep losing limbs.
@@classiccomicsforum yeah so tiny...
Vintage Star Wars R2-D2 was my "first" Transformer. As a kid, I used to put him in a 90 degree tilt and pretend that he was a cannon. It worked because the bottom of him was an opened barrel. LOL!!
@@tyronebee7209 I did the same, except I always imagined he was posing as a trash bin!
To make a real comment this is a good video and thank you for showing me a cool toy I've never seen
You are most welcome!
On a side note combattler's popy figure looked more like individiual vehicles as compared to voltes v which lookes more like body parts split into smaller pieces. Also daimos is pronounced more like die-mows as opposed to day-mos however great video i enjoyed! 👍
@@lukatronic3365 thank you!
Diaclone and Microman are 2 awesome toy lines. Their transformable robot series were the stuff Hasbro got to create their TF brand. Solid die-cast toys, beautifully mades, with detailed vehicle/tiny object modes and powerful robot design. 1984-85 series 1 &2, for me are the BEST toys in all the history of this brand. From 1986 the new toys specifically made for the toy brand became cheaper and less interesting, with notable exceptions.
Couldn't agree more! A big part of that was because Diaclone, itself, started churning out cheaper quality toys after the 1982 releases due in large part to an economic recession in Japan. Going simpler and all plastic saved the company money and made their toys cheaper for parents to buy too.
Fortunately, there were some other equally awesome toy lines happening around the same time that are well worth checking out. Stay tuned for future videos!
When I was a kid, my favorite toyline and show wasn't Transformers, it was M.A.S.K.!
@@LodanSD I'm considering featuring them in an episode, as I'm a fan too.
It was simply Hasbro's "fault". Here in Italy, I remember well, at the beginning of the eighties, the toy company GiG imported the complete Diaclone series and between 1983 and 1984 its sub-brand Car Robots renamed "Auto Robot - Trasformer" (without the N and S). The latter had a resounding success and despite coexisting with the traditional Diaclone it was immediately understood that this line was selling more. So Hasbro then merged this line with those of other companies (from which, for example, those that would have been Soundwave, Megatron or the Insecticons) and created the Transformers brand, which also arrived here in Europe as we know it today. It was a shame because the Diaclone - Micro Man line was really quality, interesting, playable, beautiful but was then forgotten for a long time.
I don't fault Hasbro for what they did. After all, in America Takara had already tried selling these toys directly as Kronoform and Diakron, and it wasn't working. Hasbro knew how to sell these guys. I just regret what we lost in the process.
@@classiccomicsforum I agree. But in fact I put the word "fault" in quotation marks. I absolutely understand what Hasbro did and in the end they were completely right given the success it achieved. I'm sorry that the Diaclone line has been completely forgotten, at least until today: I've seen that many models are coming back in a modern way although they don't have the push of the "Transformers" brand which is now an absolute must.
I am sorry, I missed a lot of what you said cause my jaws was on the floor while staring at your Brave collection. Oh and that Goggle Robo, Combatler V, achine Dolphin, and other vintage sentai and Godaikin stuff are cool too I guess. Lol I personally only have King Exkaizer, GaoGaiGar, and Goldymarg. Original Brave stuff are just extremely expensive nowadays to collect.
@@lanoche I was very lucky to have begun collecting in the late 1990s, when all of this was so much cheaper! I've still been able to pick up some great stuff at good prices in recent years, but it's a lot fewer and farther between. My apologies to your jaw, by the way!
@@classiccomicsforum Yeah I got back to collecting Sentai mechs and what not around 2013ish. Funny story really, get a bottle of beer cause it will be a bit of a long one. I'm an immigrant from the Philippines, so you know whatever toys I had were practically gone cause we had to give it away when we liquidated our stuff but I did get to keep the Thunder Megazord and brought it to where we moved. One night out of boredom years later, I took it out of my closet and took some pictures to post on facebook as a nostalgia thing. An old co-worker saw my post and offered to buy them off me, I told him no cause the reason I brought that is because it had extreme sentimental value to me. But I got curious about the toys so I checked ebay to see how much the toys are and then searched for loose parts cause mine was missing A LOT and a White Tigerzord then pulled the trigger on those. It only took that one buy to start my addiction again. My collecting got accelerated when I found out the difference between the Japan and American releases so I just kept buying the Japanese versions cause they usually have better lights and sounds feature, Diecast that were removed in the American version, paint applications that were also missing with the American version and Show accurate stickers. And that's actually when I practically became a Japanese only collector for these mechs cause the American stuff got gutted so they could have sold it for a lot cheaper in ToyRUs and whatnot back in the day.
I was actually hiding my jealousy and calling the Godaikin stuff as "are cool too I guess" when they're practically some of the holy grails, the biggest one being Voltes V as you know how Filipinos are extremely crazy for that series. Then like a year after I started on the collection Journey, I got back into Transformers and that only when I found out about Braves. I knew them as toys back in my time in the Philippines cause I had a bunch of them growing up. They were not legit thought, they were almost 100% complete knockoffs that had a gimmick like electronics removed but ALL the functionality were kept. But when I checked the Brave stuff, their prices are already enough for one person to mortgage a house. I got lucky getting those what I got but I hope to own more and I have been saying that for the past 8 years now cause life and other expenses gets in the way for me to commit like $300~800 PLUS Import taxes PLUS Shipping cost for a single vintage robot figure. I do get vintage stuff of Sentai or whatever mech I could get my hands on every so often if I do find for a reasonable price.
@@lanoche that's an awesome story. I love hearing from fans who don't just see it as collecting, but rather as a pursuit of joy. I'm so glad that the hardships of immigration didn't rob you of that joy, my friend.
@@classiccomicsforum Thanks man, yeah took a while but once the ball got rolling everything kinda fell into place. Still I refuse to pay exorbitant amounts of money for some of them. I'd eventually find it for cheap anyways like I usually do. I just need to always keep my eyes open and make sure I got the money ready when it does happen.
By the way, I edited my reply a bit cause I had some typos. I wrote it while I was a bit sleepy so I missed some stuff.
@@lanoche I hear you there. My problem is I make best offers on auctions, assuming they'll never be accepted, and then suddenly I've won three pricey bots at one time! No, that certainly didn't happen to me just last week...
Sold this guy years back love diaclone
Amen!
@@classiccomicsforum i did reviews of the cosmo car and the diatrain on my channel i need to get around and do a diaclone driver review soon
5:45 Voltes 5!!! That's the National Robot of the Philippines
I hope Takara has plans to release a new Dia-Attacker as part of their Diaclone reboot in the near future. Also, I was going to mention the Exarchon thing but a quick skim through the comments and it seems someone already has. Clearly you aren’t the only one who thinks Dia-Attacker’s design is worthy of villainy since someone working on the Transformers comics similarly had the idea.
I'm really excited to know that!
My dad sent me some toys when he was stationed in Okinawa in the 70's, one was an orange and black vehicle that came with a 4 inch figure in green and gray armor I think, it had a spring loaded eject seat on the back and I think one of the stickers said Don Hakka or something?
@@arctrooper999 sounds like Microman. I couldn't tell you the specific toy, but vehicles for 4 inch figures in the 1970s would have been right up their alley.
Is it some sort of Starbood from Starzinger?
Fantastic video and thanks for telling me about this particular Diaclone figure
I knew the history of diaclone but as you said even this guy gets overlooked
I saw some brave series figures in the background, that's so cool It makes me sad that other TF fans are just unaware of or just have no interest in the brave series considering the history and connection it has
There's tons of transforming robot anime from the 80s and 90s like Galvion, Megazone 23, Gold Lightan, Baldios, Brave series etc
Definitely subscribing. Hope you cover more Diaclone, Chogokin (new and old) and other transforming robots.
Personally i only have the chogokin Leopardon from the japanese spiderman series and it can transform from the Marveller ship into the actual Leopardon robot itself
It's a newer show but you might wanna check out Bang Bravern which is releasing its titular transforming robot toy in 2025 lol
I will definitely check that out! You mentioned both of the ideas I'm wavering between for the next episode: Takara Brave or the history of Super Sentai leading up to a discussion of the DX combiners. What do you think I should go with?
@@classiccomicsforum I think either is fine but I'd definitely love to see some videos regarding the brave series, if you ever get around to king of braves GaoGaiGar, that would be cool too
@@cptwigglefufflehe isn't first on my list, but I definitely intend to get to him!
I thought some of the toys that made up the eventual transformers line dated back to the mid 70s?? I remember seeing dates like 1974 on my old transformers.
Good question! 1974 is the year Microman began. Some of the G1 Transformers (Megatron, Soundwave, Reflector, and a few others) came from Microchange, a 1982 subset of the Microman line. So they can have a 1974 copyright and still be more recent than the 1981 Diattacker.
Awesome and informative video!
@@jesse412 thank you!
You are so right. Dicast Metal makes the best toys. I got a working gold colored metal lighter, that transforms into a robot. Found it in an NYC pawn shop back in the 80s.
Man, those guys are both strange and amazing! I need to get one.
Gold Lightan from 1981
there is also Tatsunoko's Gold Lightan as in a sentient robot that turns into a golden cigarette lighter and his friends who turns into tools and stationary, the toys are made by Bandai.
@@vustvaleo8068 I was just showing that design to my son yesterday, as in "can you believe they actually produced this thing?".
The first one looks like wheeljack.
Also, thank God Megatron is now always a Tank or a super jet, but mostly a Tank instead of a gun.
@@ricky865 that is wheeljack at the beginning. He is not who the video is about.
I've always loved the Decepticons more than the Autobots. The bad guys are just more interesting.
@@robflemming4246 its almost like the good guys weren't allowed to be fun.
Interesting. I admit I don't know a lot about These Japanese original toys But I think they should have gone with this one for the design for Megatron. his size his alt mode seemed like credible threats more so than his gun mode in the G1 series. I mean I can see his vehicle mode as some sort of cybertonian fighter maybe as a almost like a scorpion kind of mode and where Optimist has roller this “Megatron “ has those little scout fighters that he can use for even smaller surveillance than say laser beak and buzz saw but also to attack in a battle. I think that they all dropped the ball on this one and they should have gone with this for a design on Megatron.
Couldn't agree more! Unfortunately, someone at Hasbro decided that they had to look real-world, as the original concept was "Robots in disguise," even if the comics and cartoon never even tried for that approach.
In the Alex Irvine book he talks about the golden age of Cybertron and that the reason the cybertronians have cockpits is a long-forgotten reason that even the Cybertonians don't know why but the truth is at one point in the long distant past Cybertonians were part of a larger alliance of other alien beings due to spacebridge technology. The spacebridge allowed them to venture further into the galaxy and share technology and knowledge with other alien races who the Transformers would accommodate their alt modes to allow humanoids of alien races to ride inside of them.
It completely just dawned on me that that was probably that writers way of paying homage to Diaclone and toys like this.
@@mushroomhill or at least of explaining who the heck Optimus Primers trailer was for. Thanks for this info!
Very cool!
Thank you!
That VFX fighter incarnated to Jet Fire or Sky Fire
@@hamcheese512 and then got stuck in legal limbo hell between Bandai and Harmony Gold!
On the topic of combiners: I only really like combiners if the combining happens in space in a zero G environment. I think the concept of docking with a spaceship (like a ship joins up to another ship to become one bigger ship makes a lot of sense in space, but not on land imo).
I never like combination on ground. It just feels like it works best in space.
@@UToobUsername01 so true the amount of propulsion and maneuverability required to do this on the ground.
Ironically this guys headsculpt without the horns looks more like cartoon g1 megatron than the toy of g1 megatron did.
@@reluttr2 so true!
It's not the only oddity. If you actually take a critical look at Ironhide and Ratchet, you can clearly see that Ironhide was originally meant to be MC-18 Lock Robo Magne Man and when Hasbro made the desing mandate of (devices are Decepticons), he was reskinned into a somewhat passable animated depiction of the Onebox Cherry Vanette. Take a close look at Ironhide's animation head - it's clearly MC-18's!
Does intuitive mean something else in murica?
Who remembers the transformers flip changers u pulled them back and they would roll then flip up into robot
I think there's something to be said about Transformers, early Transformers, what one would consider to be the first Transformers needing to be a realistic alternate mode. I will say though that this figure you showed could be an excellent figure to revive in the likes of the Japanese late 80's early 90's Transformers. I'd certainly buy a modern interpretation for sure.
@@straker454 Interestingly enough, they launched a reimagined Diaclone line in 2015 that's still going today, and they covered nearly all of the 1981 robots...but no Diattacker.
I love the new series, but it's definitely more of a modern reimagining than a celebration of what made the vintage series exceptional.
A reimagining in the spirit of the late '80s/early '90s Transformers though? I'd definitely be intrigued.
@@classiccomicsforum I had looked at the new Diaclone to see if I could make a "Cybertronian" out of them and they just...didn't hit the mark for me. There's a charm to early Diaclone missing from the new ones. That sort of 70's sensibility that is missing. A sort of 70's futurism and sci-fi of Japan that instead moved towards realism...and partforming, lol. I think that's something I liked about the Haslab version of Victory Saber. They retained all the fourishes from the original design that worked. I feel that Hasbro making Diattacker as an Autobot or Decepticon would be a great place to put it.
@@straker454 yes, and I think Diaclone's move away from the charm you and I are looking for is purposeful, as was particularly evident when they released the new Battle Convoy as if to deliberately show the world that they were moving towards a very different vibe than anything that resembled classic Transformers.
I love that retro futurism too, and late Chogokin/GoDaiKin remains my favorite place to get it. Too bad the future doesn't seem bright and shiny to kids anymore.
@@classiccomicsforum Right? That Battle Convoy was...neat but not a Convoy. I kinda wanted it until I watched a review for it. It's too bad they moved away from a more Transformers version of it, because the crossover appeal is lost. Meanwhile Hasbro is releasing Diaclone colored repaints of Transformers that have that feel. Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus is just Powered Convoy. Burnout is a Diaclone colored version if Skids and so on.
Very true. You'd think retro futurism would be somewhat more popular but I guess that's only when it's been blown up like in Fallout, lol.
Dai Attacker was turned down due to higher production cost & concern about tiny firing parts & figures being lost or swallowed.
@@TadashiYee do you actually know this for a fact? I'd love to know more.
Nowadays the joy is in some Tobots (Young Toys) and Metal Cardbots (MGA Entertainment). Bandai and Takara have some fun stuff too, but it's japanese exclusive, which is shame.
1. Delegitimizing Raideen as the first transformable robot is hard to excuse.
2. Voltes V is pronounced "Vol-tess," not "Volts."
3. Daimos is pronounced "Die-mohs," not "Day-mohs."
I appreciate the feedback. Thank you! As for Raideen, calling him the first also ignores the Horikawa Changeman and others like him. That's why I'm focusing on what I call The Early Modern Era of Transforming Robots. Raideen transformed for sure; just not in as sophisticated a fashion as what followed.
What is the name of the metal transfomer he held at the beginning...I think i had one.
@@HegoDamaskll wheeljack
Now I want an alternate universe where this guy was the villain and not Megatron.
@@jeremiahsacks2868 same!
@@classiccomicsforum also completely unrelated but what are your thoughts on the missing link optimus prime?
@@jeremiahsacks2868 I seriously debated whether or not to give him a whirl, ultimately deciding that, while I respect the attempt to marry blocky retro with modern posability, the G1 original was perfect in my eyes; posability was never a concern for me. In fact, about fifteen years back, I bought three different versions of the original and kitbashed them to create a perfect version that never previously existed. Might need to do a video on that one day.
Deathsaurus is that you?
Transformers don’t use diecast anymore because diecast is more expensive than plastic
True. In fact, Diaclone put a stop to its usage of die-cast before Hasbro even acquired the rights because there was a major economic recession in Japan in (I believe) 1983. Thus the Diaclone toys after 1982 are pretty cheap for the most part.
I do believe you can create great heft with good design and quality plastic; diecast just helps.